Caves
by remembernaoko
Summary: The world was small and dark when men were forced to retreat in caves. Drabbleseque.


Summary: The world was small and dark when men were forced to retreat in caves. Drabbleseque.

Disclaimer: I own nothing. Slightly aged up Arya.

"Caves"

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Her small hand slipped over his to steal away his homemade bottle of rum.

The small candle they had brought into the cave was flickering dangerously low.

"I remember you not liking rum before," he asked as he watched her take a swig, a drop falling down her mouth onto her chin.

"That was when I was a _child_," she snarled, her eyes rolling.

"You're not a child?"

Her eyes flashed as he knew they would. "I'm four-and-ten. That's a woman grown for everyone. Seems to be woman enough for you."

"If you say so."

Arya had been changing skins right before. She did it in secret, so he took watch in the dark cave while she faded off, her eyes rolling to the back of her head. She was far from where they had been, seeking refuge and knowledge in beasts. The rest of her men and wolves stayed in their makeshift camps.

The world was small and dark when men were forced to retreat in caves, and so it was. Arya was stronger than anyone he'd ever known, and more frightening as well. She fashioned herself as the Dark Heart after she returned from the East. Some titled her the Dark Sister, too.

Most of the Brotherhood had perished at Riverrun when the wolves and Lady Stoneheart captured the castle. The Mother's Revenge, the smallfolk called it. Gendry knew he was blessed by the Lord of Light to make it out alive. Him and the Kingslayer. That big ugly woman, Brienne, had died right after she plunged her sword into Stoneheart's throat. Maybe Thoros killed Brienne after that. Gendry couldn't remember.

The Kingslayer wept quietly for days as he and Gendry dragged their hollow bodies away from the bloody sight. Gendry remembered how mouthy he had once been when they had first taken him as a captive before the siege took place.

Gendry still dreamt of the wedding. Still dreamt of the fire and the blood and the corpses. The men, the women, and the children, them most of all. The memories were still enough to make him want to vomit or die like they had.

So, they had ended up in King's Landing. The filthy, crowded streets of Gendry's memories were covered in red and grey snow. The Faith had Sparrows crawling over dead bodies to collect sinners and food. Gendry had seen the execution of the Queen Myrcella while the lost long Dragon Prince became a king with a beautiful Dornishwoman as his queen. The crowds had been smaller than he thought they might have been, but they cheered nevertheless. The Sparrows screamed the loudest as the High Sparrow hailed a new era when the Iron Throne would be cleansed of sins as the treacherous stags, lions, and roses were all dead.

The Kingslayer looked like a withered old man, and he softly muttered, "Tyrion."

And Gendry was there when the Mother of Dragons flew down on King's Landing upon her giant dark dragon.

The whole of King's Landing gathered to watch her descent, but she was not alone. Thousands followed in her wake. She was also accompanied by a dwarf with a disfigured face to her left while a pretty little dark-skinned girl stood at her left. However, the figure that drew Gendry's eyes was the lithe, pale girl sitting atop a large grey horse while the armies stood behind her as if waiting upon a command.

"They say Queen Cersei was strangled by the Knight of Flowers after Margaery had her pretty little neck chopped off by the Faith," Arya whispered as she lay down on the ground, "I wish I could've done the deed. To see the flames go out. To take pleasure in her death as she and her disgusting son took pleasure in my father's death. If only we had made our way to Casterly Rock earlier…then I might have had to fight over the honor with Tyrion. Then I would've killed two lions."

Gendry took the rum out of her hand and took a drink. He wiped his mouth before setting the drink on the ground.

Her hand began to graze his thigh.

"Tell me how you killed them for me again," she murmured.

Gendry's large hand cupped the hand scratching the rough spun wool of his breeches. "The Lannisters or the Freys?"

"Both."

He brought her cold hand up to his lips and pressed a kiss along her knuckles.

"The first came along soon after Stoneheart joined us. He had golden hair and green eyes, so I slew him right there. I was cross then. Real angry. Lem told me to hang him, but Thoros said no lions or their pets deserve a proper death by fire. After that, they sent me to the Crossroads when we were looking for you. There was nothing but these girls. They said a boy and the Hound slew men before taking off. So, I knew you were the boy. Harwin said it'd be best if we made the inn a sort of meeting place. Then, after a while we started taking in orphans and trapping any Freys or Lannisters that came in."

Arya stayed silent, so Gendry leaned down and buried his face into her neck. She gave her evil little laugh as he breathed in her scent. A heady mix of girl, blood, dirt, and forest. Gendry's blood began to simmer as he took Arya in and her skinny arm embraced his shoulders.

She was still skinny as a spear, he thought as her legs wrapped around his hips. Gendry pressed his length against the inviting warmth between her legs as he kissed her mouth tasting of rum. It wasn't the first time they'd been like this.

Arya pulled on his thick hair in order to yank his head bank. He could see the stormy grey eyes becoming darker.

"Will you kill the rest for me, too?" Arya asked in a breathless voice.

"Yes," Gendry growled. It was true. He would kill all of them.

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_author's note: feedback is great. i haven't written in ages, so i'd like to hear what anyone has to say. thanks for reading! i appreciate it. _


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